Nightmares
by suburbs
Summary: Caitlyn wakes up from a nightmare, and Nate comforts her. Part of the Naptime/Uncle Jason series, but can stand alone.


Disclaimer: I do not own Camp Rock.

Author's Note: This is for XoxMountainGirlxoX, who asked me to write a story where Caitlyn has a nightmare because something traumatic happens to her and Nate comforts her. She requested this so long ago that she probably gave up hope awhile ago. Special thanks to LittleRedOne and Oo lovetoday oO for reading, offering feedback and being generally supportive. You should go read their stuff.

Caitlyn's heart raced as she awoke suddenly and sat up in bed. She swung her legs over the edge of the bed and wiped a tear off her cheek with a shaking hand. Standing, she headed quietly down the hallway, pausing in front of Melody's room. She opened the door to see Melody sound asleep in her bed, the nightlight illuminating her face. She could hear her daughter's delicate snores and smiled a little at the familiar sound. Caitlyn wanted to walk across the room to stroke her daughter's hair and place a kiss on her forehead, but she knew better. Melody was a notoriously light sleeper, and even opening the door at all was a risk. Sighing, she closed the door and walked down the hallway towards Annabelle's room.

Fortunately for Caitlyn, Annabelle slept like a rock, so she sunk onto the carpet next to the bed. Caitlyn reached out and touched a stray curl falling across the pillowcase before leaning in to kiss her daughter's nose. Annabelle half-opened her eyes and gave her mother a sleepy smile before settling back to sleep. Caitlyn wasn't sure how long she sat there on the floor before Nate found her.

She felt his hand rest on her should and looked up at him. The dark circles under her eyes broke his heart. "Another one?" he asked, even though he already knew the answer. After she nodded, he reached out his hand to pull her up into a hug. He kissed the top of her head before whispering, "Come back to bed, Caity."

Nate kept his arm around his wife's shoulder as he led her back down the hall towards their bedroom, feeling incredibly helpless. A week ago the girls' school had called to say that a man had approached Annabelle on the playground, telling her that something had happened to her parents and that she needed to come with him. When she burst into tears and ran to find her teacher, the stranger had sprinted towards his car and sped away. The police still weren't sure if he was a pedophile or if it had been a kidnapping attempt. Annabelle calmed down when she saw her parents safe, but Caitlyn hadn't slept for more than a few hours a night since it happened.

He pulled Caitlyn into bed next to him and cradled his wife in his arms. Nate prided himself on his ability to solve problems, and it killed him that he hadn't been able to fix this for Caitlyn. He had never realized just how much he depended on her strength and stability until he watched her crumble before him. She tried to keep things as normal as possible for the girls, but there was a haunted look in her eyes now that intensified the moment the girls were out of her sight. Even the prescription sleeping pills weren't keeping the nightmares at bay.

Nate felt Caitlyn trembling in his arms, and he began to stroke her hair and murmur, "Please, Caity, tell me how to help you." Caitlyn could feel her husband's tears fall onto her face, mingling with her own. "I'll do anything to make this better for you – quit the band, hire a bodyguard to go to school with them. Anything to make you feel safe again."

The desperation in Nate's voice shocked Caitlyn, and she pulled back to look at him. His face was wet, and his eyes were full of fear. Confused, she reached up and traced the trail of tears down is cheek. Her voice was hoarse from crying and lack of sleep as she spoke, "What happened… doesn't it scare you?"

"Of course it does, baby, but I do my best to keep them safe. If I dwell on everything bad that could happen to them, I'd go crazy. And they're smart little girls; I trust them to do what is right." Nate paused a moment. "Honestly what scares me the most right now is the idea of loosing you."

"I'm not going anywhere," Caitlyn replied.

Nate shook his head and gathered his courage before responding. "Not physically. But you're disappearing right in front of us. I almost don't recognize you anymore. You're so terrified of something happening to the girls that you have stopped functioning. Right now they're okay, but you're going to hurt them and yourself if we can't find a way to help you deal with what almost happened." Nate stopped to get himself back under control. "I love you so much, Cait. The girls and I… we need you."

Nate's palpable fear and love for her overwhelmed Caitlyn. She knew he was right; something had to change. She didn't want to live in constant fear. "Okay," she said quietly. "Tomorrow I'll call the therapist Mitchie found for me."

He let out the breath he hadn't even been aware he was holding, "Thank you, baby." He kissed her gently before settling back onto his pillow. Caitlyn knew this wasn't something she could fix overnight, but she didn't want her life to be like it had been for the past week. She rested her head on Nate's chest and listened to his heartbeat, drawing comfort from his presence as she drifted off to sleep.


End file.
